Bed-motion.



E. F. DUDLEY.

BED MOTION.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2. 1916.

Patented Nov. y5, 1918. 6 SHEETS-SHEET I .Q -HMMNIIHHMMHHHIHIHHIUMIH .....IMMHHWMHMMHIU E. F. DUDLEY.

BED MOTION.

APPLICATION mw SEPT. 2. 1916.

Patented Nov. 5,1918.

6 SHEETS-SHEEI 2- E. F. DUDLEY.

BED MOTION.

APFLICATION men sEPT.2, 191s.

Patented Nov. 5,1918.

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E. F. DUDLEY.

BED MOTION. APPLlCATONfILE-D SEPT- 2, 1916.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

E. F. DUDLEY.

lBED MOTION.

APPLacATloN mio SEPT. 2, |916.

,284, l 83 Patented Nov. 5, 1918..

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EDWARD FRANK .'DUDLEY, OF OAKPARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MIEI-ILE PRINTING PRESS & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

BED-MOTION.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

Application filed September 2, 1916. Serial No. 118,189.

converting rotary motion into to and fro rectilinear or reciprocating motion. It has more especial reference to means of this kind for"utilizing rotary motion for reciprocating the bed of a printing press or like machine.

` In devices for thispurpose the bed is driven throughout the greater part of its stroke at a' constant rate of speed by suitable constant speedfmechanismmnd is slowed down, stopped, Aand started on its return stroke at each end of its travel by' reversing mechanism embodying devices giving the bed a rate of speed gradually decreasing from the maximum speed to a point of rest and increasing from such point of rest until the maximum speed is again attained.

It has been yusual in mechanism of this character to employ such'shifting devices comprising parts which reciprocate with the-bed and at the time of reversal are moving in the same direction as the bed, thus disadvantageously adding their momentum to that of the bed, the total of which must be overcome to bring the latter to a stop for reversal. It has also been customary to employ gears axially shifted to bring them into engagement alternately with oppositely rotating gears in order to reverse the direction of bed travel. Likewise, an objectionable feature found in bed shifting'mechanism is the disposition of the operating parts at such distance below the plane of the bed as to preclude the employment of sufficiently massiveand most eiiiciently distributed supporting pillars.

By the present invention the bed reversing devices reciprocate, at the moment of reversal, in a direction counter to the direction of movement of the bed prior to reversal, thus aiding in neutralizing the jars and strains incident to reversal and due to the momentum of the bed and counteracting the tendency of the press to slide on the floor, thus minimizing the strains on the press frame. These bed shifting devices are, moreover, on the same side of the center of gravity of the press as the bed itself thus avoiding any torsional strain on the press in a vertical plane tending to tip the press upon reversal. Furthermore shiftable gears are dispensed with and the power is transmitted by the gears in a constant manner without shock. Other advantageous characteristics of the invention from the standpoint of simplicity, compactness, efliciency and dependability for the purposes intended will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a further consideration of the constructional features of the invention as set forth, by way of example, in the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a View illustrating in side elevation a. printing `press embodying the-invention;

F ig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical .secion llooking in the opposite direction from Fig. 3 is a central transverse vertical sec tion taken on the line^3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a partial transverse vertical sect1on on the line 4-4- of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 isf a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a similar section taken on the line (i-G' of Fig. 3;

n Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating a modified form of driving gear train;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of Fig. 7 and Fig. `9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 7.

In these drawings the framey of the press is indicated generally at 11, the printing cylinder at l2 suitably journaled in the frame, details not shown, and the central supporting pillar at 13. These old and well known elements of press construction are shown in a diagrammatic manner only, being of any well known type of construction and arrangement.

Power from any suitable source is transmitted by the power shaft 14, the gear 15, the gear 16 and the gear 17 for rotating the impression cylinder l2 at a constant speed in agiven direction. The sliaft'lS of the gear .1.6 carries in addition to the gear 16 a gear.' 19, a gear 20, and a crank arm 2l. The gear 19 on the shaft 18 is in mesh with with a slightly smaller gear 23 which in turn meshes rwith a larger gear 24 mounted upon the same shaft 25 with the gear 22 previously referred to but rotating loosely thereon. The gear 24 is concentric with the gear 22 but of slightly less diameter and has integral therewith or fixed thereon by means of the bolts 26, 26 or in other suitable manner, a sector27 having a toothed periphery 28 in a plane immediately adjacent and of a radius equal to that of the wide toothed portion 22a of the gear 22. The segment gear comprising the gear 24 and its sector 27 is caused, by the interposition of the idler gear 23, to rotate in a direction opposite to that of the segment gear 22 but at the-same eripheral speed.

A counter shafpt 29 is mounted in the machine frame parallel to the. shaft 18 and carries a wide gear 30 and a pinion 31. The

pinion 31 is constantly in mesh with a rack 32 downwardly facing from the bed 33. The gear 30 is arranged between planes which include the teeth 28 of the sector 27 and also the excess width of the teeth 22a, but exclude the narrow teeth 22b and the narrow teeth of the segment gear 24.

As the bed travels in one direction, the' drivingpower is transmitted from the shaft 14 through the gears 15, 16, the transmission shaft 18, the gear 19, the segment gear 22, the gear teeth 22a, the gear 30, the shaft .29, the pinion 31 and the rack 32; the driving of the bed in the opposite direction is' accomplished by power transmitted from the drive shaft 14 through the gear 1 5, the gear 16, the transmission shaft 18, the gear 20, the gear 23, the toothed sector 27 of the segment gear 24, the gear 30, the shaft 29, the pinion 31 and the rack 32.

The train of gearing from the drive shaft 14 up to and including the gear 22 with its segment of wide teeth 22al on the one hand, and from the shaft 14 through the intermediate gearing to and including the toothed sector 28 on the other, rotate uniformly in one direction through the first set of gearing and in the other direction as to the second set. It follows that when the gear 30 is in mesh with the teeth 22a it rotates in one direction and while in mesh with the teeth 28 of the sector 27 it rotates in the opposite direction, whereby the bed is moved in one direction or the other through the shaft 29, the pinion 3l and the rack 32 according as the teeth 22a or the teeth 2 8 have control of the gear 30.

As-"the teeth 22a and the teeth 28 each occupy considerably less than one-half a circle, there is an interval of time when the gear 30 is IlOt in mesh with either of the teeth 22-a or 28, at which time the gear 30, the shaft 29, the pinion 31 and the rack 32 are idie so -far as any transmission of power is concerned. This interval of time occurs when the bed of the press 'is at or nearing the limit of its stroke in each direction. During this interval, the bed is under the control of the reversing mechanism which will now be described.

The crank arm` 21 previously referred to as being fixed upon the end of the shaft 18 is connected by means of a wrist pin 34 to a link 35, the opposite end of which is pivoted at 36 t0 a reversing bar 37 guided within bracket guides 38,' 39 for rectilinear reciprocating motion above the shaft 14 and slightly below the plane of the bed 33. This reversing bar 37 is provided near its ends on the upper face with racks 40, 41 in mesh respectively with loose pinions 42, 43 on stationary shafts 44 and 45 or,robviously, the pinions may be tight thereon and the. shafts suitably journaled in the frame. The shafts 44, 45 have also mounted thereon pinions 46 and 47, the teeth of which extend into the horizontal plane of the rack 32 but to one side thereof. Intermediate the two ends of the bed 33 alongside the rack 32, 'in the vertical plane-of` the pinions 46, 47 is a non-continuous or interrupted rack 48, 49,v

the rack portions of which are adapted to be engaged by the pini-ons 46, 47 immediately before, at the time of, and after the reversal of the direction of bed movement, the pinions 46 and 47 taking control of the bed through the means of the short rack portions 48 and 49 immediately before the gear 30 leaves the teeth 22a or 28, during the interval of time when the gear 30 is in mesh with either of the'teeth 22l or 28, and for a slight length of time after the gear 30 again engages the teeth 22@l or 28. The bed motion is thus during the period of rever-` sal underthe control of the reciprocating bar 37, such control being received from the teeth 22a and the teeth 28 of the regular bed drive at the eXact speed of the bed move.v

momentum of the latter serving to neutralize the jars of reversing and to counteract the effect on the press frame of the momentum of the bed as the latter is being slowed down, in contradistinction to the usual form of device in which the reversing mechanism is moving at the time of reversal in the same direction as the bed, whereby the tendency to skid the press on the floor and the consequent strain on the frame is augmented. At the instant of reversal, the bed being stationary, the reciprocating reversing bar 37 is also stationary, the crank arm 21 being at dead center. All of the advantages of the arcual motion of the crank are thus utilized, the increase in motion of the reversing bar 37 being gradual from the dead center of the crank as it travels through an arc of 90, at which time the bed is moving at its maximum speed and is then transferred to the regular drive. It will also be observed that by the employment ofthe wide teeth 22a extending over a segment of the gear 22,

together with the coperating sector 27, the bed is driven alternately in opposite directions from the same drive shaft without the employment of gears shiftable upon their axes into and out of engagement with other gears. Moreover by the arrangement herein set forth, all of the bed reversing mechanism is confined vertically to a space immediately below the bed whereby the lower space is utilizable for heavy pillars and other massive supports for the press, thus lending greater stability. It is to be noted that if the reversing bar 37 were disposed below the center of gravity of the press, the movement of the reversing bar at the time of reversal counter to the direction of movement of the bed would by its momentum augment the momentum of the bed in the way of a tendency to upend the press or subject the same to a torsional strain in a vertical plane about the center of gravity. The arrangement of the reversing bar immediately below the bed and its movement counter to that of the bed at the time of reversal assists in neutralizing the strains during the reversing without a tendency to up-end the press and with a less strain upon the frame than would otherwise be the case.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9 is shown a simplified form of gear train for the driving of the bed in opposite direction during the medial portion of its stroke, the reversing mechanism remaining the same as previously described.' Herein the transmission of power from the drive shaft 14 through the gears 15 and 16 to the transmission or crank shaft 18 remains the same, power being further transmitted from the shaft 18 through the. gear 19 to a substitute for the gear 22 which, in the present case instead of having Wide and narrow teeth is a gear 6l mounted upon the stub shaft 62 'and having teeth 63 which may be of uniform width. Formed integral with the gear 61 or bolted thereto as indicated in fixed relation are two segment gears 64 and 65, the former lying immediately adjacent the gear 61 and the latter separated from the gear 61 by the width of the segment gear 64. The segment gear 64 extends through an arc of 12() degrees, as does also the segment gear 65, the two segments being angularly displaced so that the gap on one side of the shaft 62 embraces an arc of 230idegrees, while the gap on the other side embraces an arc of 89% degrees. Uponthe countershaft 29 which carries the pinion 31 meshing with the bed rack 32 is mounted a pair of pinions 66 and 67, the former arrangedto mesh with the segment gear 64. Alongside the shaft 29 isa stub shaft' 68 carrying a wide or double faced pinion 69, one-half of the face of which is arranged to mesh with the segment gear 65 while the other half thereof is in -mesh constantly with the pinion 67. The

wide gear 69 runs idly upon the stub shaft 68 and serves for the reversal of the direction of rotation of the shaft 29 during the time the said pinion 69 is driven by the segmentgear 65.

The operation of this gear train is as follows: The gear 61 and the segment gears 64 and 65 being constantly driven in the direction indicated` by the arrows in Figs. 8 and 9, the segment gear 64 comes into mesh with the pinion 66 a sufficient length of time after the segment gear 65 has left the pinion 69 to permit of the reversal of the bed as previously described, by the reversing meehanism. The pinion 66 is driven by the segment gear 64 in a counter-clockwise direction thus moving the bed to the left through the mediation of the shaft 29 and pinion 31 meshing with the rack 32. After the teeth of the segment gear 64 clear those of the pinion 66, and allowing the same interval for the reversing of the direction of bed movement by the reversing mechanism, the teeth of the segment gear 65 come into mesh with the teeth of the pinion 69 rotating this pinion in a counter-clockwise direction and the movement of the pinion 69 being transmitted through the pinion 67 to the shaft 29 causing the latter to move'in a clockwise direction and through the mediation of the pinion 31l and the rack 32 moving the bed to the right. During the functioning of the segment gear 65 the pinion 69 is thus used for driving the bed in a reverse direction. but during the functioning of the segment gear 64 the pinion 69 is running idle. It will be readily understood that the difference in the gap of 30.1; degrees and the gap of 89% degrees on the two sides of the shaft 62 is to compensate for the disposition of the pinions 66 and 67 on the one hand and the inion 69 on the other in advance of each ot er, there being a net interval of degrees of arc between the functioning of' the segment gears 64 and 65 to allow for the functioning of the reversing mechanism to slow down, stop and accelerate the speed of the bed in the opposite direction.

Itwill be observed that'in both forms of gear train, the driving, stopping and reversing of the bedv motion is accomplished without the employment of axially shifted gears,

in the lirst described construction by the employment of segment gears driven in opposite directions and in the forniof construction last described vby segment gears driven lin the same direction.

YI claim:

1. The combination with a'reciprocable bed, of means for driving the same and for reversing the movement thereof comprising rotary driving means acting on the bed throughout the medial portion of each stroke, and reciprocating reversing mechanism for slowing down and reversing and accelerating the speed oi the same at the end-of each stroke, said reversing mechanism including a bar moving when acting on the bed in a direction counter to thatof the bed movement, said reciprocating reversingA bar and bed disposed on the same side of the center of gravity of the machine.

l 2. The combination with a reciprocable bed having one continuous rack and a second rack, of means for driving the same andA for" reversing the movement thereof comprising rotary driving means acting on the continuous rack throughout the medial portion of each stroke, and reciprocating reversing mechanism for slowing down and reversing and accelerating the speed of the same at the end of each stroke, said revers-.

ing mechanism comprising a revolving crank, a reversing bar mounted for reciprocatory movement and driven by the crank, a pair of pinions driven by the bar one at each end and adapted to intermittently mesh `with the respective portions of the second comprising a revolving crank, a reversing bar mounted for reciprocatory movement below the bed and driven by the crank, a pair of pinions driven by the bar one at each vend and adapted to intermittently mesh with the respective portions of the second rack when the bed is near the end of its stroke.

4. The combination with a reciprocable bed having a downwardly facin continuous rack, and a second downwar 1y facin rack, of means for drivin the bed and for reversing the movement t ereof comprising rotary driving means acting on the continuous rack throughout the medial portion of each stroke, and reciprocating reversing mechanism for slowing down and'reversing and accelerating the speed of the bed at the end of each stroke, said reversing mechanism comprising a revolving'crank, a reversing bar mounted for reciprocatory movement below the 'bed' and driven by the crank, a pair of pinions driven by the bar one at each end and' adapted to intermittently mesh with the respective portions of they second rack when the bed is near the 'end of its stroke said bar moving when inmesh with the racks in a direction counterto that of the bed movement.

5. The combination with' a reciprocable bed having a downwardly facing continuous rack, and a second downwardly facing rack, of means for drivin the bed and for reversing the movement t ereof comprising rotary driving means acting on the continuous rack throughout the medial portion of each stroke, and reciprocating reversing mechanism for slowing down and reversing and accelerating the speed of the bed at the end of each stroke, said reversing mechanismv comprising a revolving crank, a reversing bar mounted for reciprocatory movement below the bed and driven by the crank, a pair of pinions driven by the bar one at each end and adapted to intermittently mesh with the respective portions of the second rack when the bed is near the end ofits stroke, said bar moving when in mesh with the racks-in a direction counter to that of the bed movement, the reciprocating reversing bar and bed disposed on the same side of the center of gravity of the machine.

In witness whereof I have hereuntosigned my name'in the presence of -tWo subscribing wltnesses.

LEWIS T. vGREIST, T. D. BU'ILER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner ot Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

